BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton beats Souderton, secures state berth

Photo by Mark C. Psoras/JRC
Methacton’s Anthony O’Brien applauds as Souderton’s John Kanas gets ejected from the game during Tuesday’s District 1-AAAA playoff game at Methacton. Kanas received two technical fouls and was thrown out in the second half. The Warriors advance to the quarterfinals, where they will travel to Great Valley on Friday night (7 p.m.). The win also secured Methacon a bid in the PIAA Tournament.

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — There was some uncertainly about when — if ever — the Methacton boys basketball program qualified for the PIAA state playoffs.

But there was no question about the Warriors achieving that feat Tuesday ... and even less about the effort they put out in their berth-securing 54-45 victory over Souderton.

Playing high-octane ball over the final eight minutes, the Warriors reversed a six-point deficit into a decisive second-round victory in District 1’s Class AAAA bracket. And by virtue of reaching the tournament’s quarterfinal round, Methacton guarantees itself of at least four more games in the postseason — not to mention continued contention for district medals.

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“We’re definitely excited,” said Methacton head coach Jeff Derstine, who later confirmed it was the first state berth in program history. “The kids are fired up and ready to go.”

The fire blazed in the pivotal fourth quarter, when the Warriors (22-4) rebounded from a problematic third stanza against a Souderton unit that staged its own comeback from a 25-20 halftime deficit. Scoring 10 unanswered points to start the fourth, Methacton took a 41-37 lead with 3:40 left.

The 11th-seeded Big Red got as close as one point of catching its hosts, but Methacton went on another eight-point run over the final 44 seconds to take any suspense out of the contest. It will now visit Frazer Friday to face off against third-seeded Great Valley; Souderton, in the meantime, drops into the playback bracket, needing to win two more times to make the state field.

“I’m really proud of how our kids fought,” Derstine said. “Souderton is a gritty team that battled at the defensive end.”

The final frame was a contrast between Souderton coming undone, and Methacton taking advantage of what it derived from the Big Red’s plague of problems.

John Kanas, the visitors’ leading scorer with a game-high 23 points, had none in the fourth. But he drew two technical fouls, a factor in the Warriors going 10-for-10 at the line in a 23-point stanza.

“Obviously, that gave us an opportunity,” Derstine said. “Kanas is a big part of what they do.”

In the final 24 seconds, the locals made three trips to the stripe. Brendan Casper made pairs of free throws around Joe Ruhl swishing two, adding to the 48-45 lead Methacton held after Casper (22 points, eight rebounds) banked a shot 20 seconds earlier.

Another big play in the closing quarter was Dillon Alderfer swatting a Souderton pass out of bounds. While it didn’t add any numbers to the scoreboard, it gave Methacton a decided boost.

“I thought that was the turning point,” Derstine said. “That gave us the energy to get us back in the game.”

“That changed the entire way the game was going,” Casper added.

There were comebacks and rallies aplenty on both sides.

Souderton held a 13-12 advantage after one quarter, in part from Kanas sinking a pair of 3-point baskets in the final 1:20. The Warriors responded by going up 17-16 in little more than 2-1/2 minutes; then following an exchange of baskets, they went in front as Justin Ardman hit two free throws and Matt Forrest (16 points) nailed a “three” with 2:12 before halftime.

Scoring nine unanswered points to start the second half, the Big Red went on a 15-2 run for a 35-27 lead at the 2:37 mark. Casper interrupted the run by making two free throws with 4:48 left, then got the remainder of the Warriors’ six points with two baskets in a 40-second span.

“We led in the first half,” Derstine recalled, “but they (Souderton) took us out of our offense. They came out in the third quarter with a lot of energy.”

Casper and Forrest shouldered the bulk of Methacton’s scoring load in the fourth. While Casper collected 10 of his points in that span, Forrest added another seven with the last of his four 3-point baskets and a 4-for-4 at the line.

“It’s great. The win is such a relief,” Casper said. “Not having our backs to the wall is a relief. But we’re not done yet. We’ve got a shot at playing well Friday night.”

NOTES

The game was a rematch from December, when Big Red topped host Methacton 51-43. It was the only loss for the Warriors during a 14-1 start that set tone for unbeaten regular-season run through Pioneer Athletic Conference ranks. ... With his 14th game of 20 or more points, Casper upped his career total to 1,088 — good for 59th place on The Mercury’s area scoring chart. He is one point, and one spot, behind Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell.